Features

Immigration: Why the system needs reform for construction to flourish

By and 2024-09-02T06:00:00

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In an in-depth report published by the Building the Future Think Tank this week, we look at how Brexit has changed the way we recruit foreign workers – and the implications of that decision. Read the first part of our analysis today

The end of freedom of movement with the EU and the setting-up of the points-based immigration system has changed the basis on which the construction industry operates. The industry now struggles to bring in skilled staff it needs from overseas and is totally unable to hire foreign-born lower-skilled workers.

The risk of this approach to immigration, as outlined in a recent Financial Times column by academic and former Treasury economist Prof Jonathan Portes, is that the UK could get stuck in a low-growth “economic doom loop” if it does not change course.

The new Labour government now offers the construction industry an unprecedented opportunity to make the argument for an immigration policy that helps deliver sustained economic growth.

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